Cameron will say he wants work-based training to sit "at the heart of our mission to rebuild the economy".
During a visit to a training academy later on today in Buckinghamshire to mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week, the prime minister will call on employers, schools and colleges, and his own ministers to expand apprenticeship opportunities for young people.
He will use the visit to reaffirm the government's commitment to ensure more young adults can access high quality apprenticeships.
Cameron will say: "Apprenticeships are at the heart of our mission to rebuild the economy, giving young people the chance to learn a trade, to build their careers, and create a truly world-class, high-skilled workforce that can compete and thrive in the fierce global race we are in.
"There are record numbers of people taking up an apprenticeship, with a million starting one in the last few years. And as we take forward the Richard Review, our drive to reform and strengthen apprenticeships, raising standards and making them more rigorous and responsive to the needs of employers - means that an apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a first choice career move.
"But we need to challenge ourselves to go even further, that is why I want it to be the new norm for young people to either go to university or into an apprenticeship."
Cameron will add: "We need to look at how we can expand apprenticeship opportunities so that they are available to all young people who are ready and eager to take them up, and aspire to get ahead in life."
All this week HRmagazine.co.uk will be covering National Apprenticeship Week. There will be research, exclusive features, case studies and daily news stories.